The number of victims of crimes recorded by police decreased between 2001 and 2002 for almost all of the offence categories listed in table 11.7. Declines were particularly noticeable for those offence categories related to the taking of property (such as robbery, unlawful entry with intent and theft offences), as indicated by graph 11.8. The largest proportional decreases were recorded for victims of armed robbery (30%), driving causing death (21%) and motor vehicle theft (19%). Increases were evident for four offence categories: manslaughter (29%), sexual assault (6%), assault (5%) and murder (2%).

11.7 VICTIMS AND VICTIMISATION RATES, Byselected offences recorded by police

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

NUMBER

Homicide and related offences

n.a.

995

970

1,020

1,064

963

Murder

321

285

343

315

311

318

Attempted murder

318

387

359

393

460

396

Manslaughter

39

47

43

48

35

45

Driving causing death(a)

n.a.

276

225

264

258

204

Assault

124,500

130,903

134,271

138,708

152,283

159,548

Sexual assault

14,353

14,336

14,104

15,759

16,897

17,850

Kidnapping/abduction

562

705

766

693

767

696

Robbery

21,305

23,801

22,606

23,336

26,591

20,961

Armed robbery

9,054

10,850

9,452

9,483

11,233

7,817

Unarmed robbery

12,251

12,951

13,154

13,853

15,358

13,144

Blackmail/extortion

360

272

255

257

355

344

Unlawful entry with intent

421,569

434,376

415,735

436,968

435,754

394,374

Property theft

332,525

339,512

322,983

(b)n.a.

325,220

292,769

Other

89,044

94,864

92,752

(b)n.a.

110,534

101,605

Motor vehicle theft(c)

130,138

131,587

129,552

138,912

139,894

113,389

Other theft

530,881

563,482

612,559

681,268

700,137

679,460

RATE PER 100,000 PERSONS

Homicide and related offences

n.a.

5.3

5.1

5.3

5.5

4.9

Murder

1.7

1.5

1.8

1.6

1.6

1.6

Attempted murder

1.7

2.1

1.9

2.1

2.4

2.0

Manslaughter

0.2

0.3

0.2

0.3

0.2

0.2

Driving causing death(a)

n.a.

1.5

1.2

1.4

1.3

1.0

Assault

672.2

699.0

709.2

724.2

784.5

809.7

Sexual assault

77.5

76.6

74.5

82.3

87.1

90.6

Kidnapping/abduction

3.0

3.8

4.0

3.6

4.0

3.5

Robbery

115.0

127.1

119.4

121.8

137.0

106.4

Armed robbery

48.9

57.9

49.9

49.5

57.9

39.7

Unarmed robbery

66.1

69.2

69.5

72.3

79.1

66.7

Blackmail/extortion

1.9

1.5

1.3

1.3

1.8

1.7

Unlawful entry with intent

2,276.2

2,319.5

2,195.7

2,281.4

2,244.9

2,001.4

Property theft

1,795.4

1,812.9

1,705.8

(b)n.a.

1,675.5

1,485.8

Other

480.8

506.6

489.9

(b)n.a.

569.5

515.6

Motor vehicle theft(c)

702.7

702.7

684.2

725.2

720.7

575.4

Other theft

2,866.4

3,008.9

3,235.2

3,556.8

3,607.0

3,448.2

(a) A change in the recording practices for driving causing death offences in NSW resulted in incomplete counts for this offence in 1997.(b) A change in the legislation related to unlawful entry with intent (UEWI) offences in SA resulted in an inability to provide UEWI disaggregated into property theft and other for 2000.(c) Counts for motor vehicle theft prior to 1997 are not directly comparable with those for other years as WA included the theft of caravans and trailers in addition to motor vehicle theft.

Source: Recorded Crime - Victims, Australia, 2002 (4510.0).

Graph 11.8 shows the change in the number of victims of crime for selected offence categories.

Personal crime

Based on reports to police, males were more likely than females to be victims of personal crime, with the exception of sexual assault and kidnapping/abduction (graph 11.9). The recorded sexual assault victimisation rate for females (144.5 female victims per 100,000 females) was more than four times the male victimisation rate (33.1 male victims per 100,000 males).

As table 11.7 shows, assault is the most common category of offence recorded against the person. Police recorded 159,548 victims of assault during 2002, a 5% increase over the previous year and 28% higher than in 1997. The assault victimisation rate in 2002 was 809.7 victims per 100,000 persons, up from 784.5 in 2001 and 672.2 per 100,000 persons in 1997. In fact, the 2002 recorded assault victimisation rate is the highest it has been since national assault statistics were first collected in 1995.

In 2002, the recorded sexual assault victimisation rate also reached its highest level since national sexual assault records began in 1993. The number of cases of sexual assault recorded in 2002 (17,850) represents an increase of 24% over the number recorded in 1997 (14,353). The 2002 sexual assault victimisation rate (90.6 victims per 100,000 persons) is 17% higher than the rate in 1997 (77.5 per 100,000 persons).

In 2002, there were 318 victims of murder, representing a rate of 1.6 victims per 100,000 persons. The annual recorded counts for murder victims in Australia have fluctuated over the period 1997 to 2002, partly due to some specific incidents: in South Australia in 1999, where 12 bodies were discovered at Snowtown; in Western Australia in 1999, where 9 victims resulted from 2 family murder/suicide incidents; and in Queensland in 2000, where 15 victims of the fire at Childers were recorded. Despite this fluctuation in the number of murder victims, the rate has remained relatively stable over the last six years, ranging from 1.5 to 1.8 murder victims per 100,000 persons.

Property crime

Unlawful entry with intent (UEWI) and other theft are the most frequently occurring property offences. The UEWI victimisation rate decreased by 12% between 1997 and 2002 to be 2,001 victims per 100,000 persons in 2002, and is the lowest rate since national records began in 1993. The 2002 rate for other theft was 3,448 victims per 100,000 persons, 4% lower than in 2001, but representing a 20% increase since 1997. The victimisation rate for motor vehicle theft is at its lowest rate since 1993. The 2002 motor vehicle theft rate of 575 victims per 100,000 persons was 20% lower than in the previous year and 18% lower than in 1997.

Age and sex of victims

Young people aged 15-24 years experienced the highest levels of recorded crime victimisation for the selected offence categories (table 11.10). Males experienced higher recorded assault rates across all age groups. For the offence category of assault, the rates for all 15-24 year olds were approximately twice the national average for all age groups. Robbery and sexual assault rates for the 15-19 year age group were more than three times the national average. The robbery rate for 20-24 year olds was more than twice the national average. Males and females aged 65 and over experienced the lowest level of crime victimisation for the offence categories of assault, sexual assault and kidnapping/abduction.

11.10 VICTIMISATION RATES(a) OF SELECTED CRIMES(b) - 2002

Offence category

Age group (years)

Murder

Attempted
murder

Driving causing
death

Assault

Sexual
assault

Kidnapping/
abduction

Robbery(c)

Blackmail/
extortion(c)

MALES

0-9

1.0

1.0

0.2

144.1

86.7

3.0

4.4

-

10-14

n.p.

0.4

0.6

714.9

90.1

3.9

126.8

0.6

15-19

2.4

3.1

3.4

1,793.0

64.1

7.1

526.6

3.0

20-24

3.2

6.2

4.0

1,934.8

30.7

6.9

336.9

3.4

25-34

2.7

5.4

1.3

1,651.4

19.6

2.1

153.3

2.4

35-44

2.8

3.8

1.1

1,064.9

13.9

0.9

82.3

3.2

45-54

1.9

1.6

1.0

655.4

4.9

1.1

61.6

3.0

55-64

1.3

0.3

0.3

352.7

2.8

0.3

39.6

1.3

65 and over

1.0

0.5

1.0

124.9

1.1

n.p.

20.3

0.8

All ages(d)

2.0

2.7

1.3

929.4

33.1

2.5

124.8

2.0

FEMALES

0-9

0.3

0.6

n.p.

93.6

194.0

4.5

0.5

-

10-14

n.p.

n.p.

0.5

479.7

461.7

9.8

19.4

-

15-19

0.6

1.6

1.5

1,330.3

499.1

15.4

120.7

1.3

20-24

2.0

1.8

0.9

1,418.1

209.6

7.1

119.9

1.7

25-34

2.3

1.5

0.6

1,160.8

124.0

5.2

65.3

1.0

35-44

1.6

1.9

0.3

764.9

65.0

1.8

49.2

1.3

45-54

1.2

1.2

0.5

400.9

27.5

0.9

42.0

1.0

55-64

1.0

0.6

n.p.

169.3

11.1

0.5

34.4

0.8

65 and over

0.4

0.2

0.5

57.3

5.8

0.3

27.0

0.4

All ages(d)

1.2

1.2

0.5

640.7

144.5

4.4

49.1

0.8

PERSONS

0-9

0.7

0.8

0.2

120.2

139.7

3.7

2.6

-

10-14

0.3

0.3

0.5

602.1

272.3

6.7

74.7

0.4

15-19

1.5

2.5

2.5

1,580.5

277.6

11.1

331.9

2.2

20-24

2.6

4.2

2.5

1,728.7

121.1

7.6

236.3

2.5

25-34

2.6

3.5

0.9

1,436.5

73.5

3.8

112.4

1.7

35-44

2.2

3.0

0.7

931.8

40.5

1.4

67.0

2.3

45-54

1.6

1.4

0.8

536.0

16.5

1.0

52.5

2.0

55-64

1.2

0.5

0.3

264.9

7.0

0.4

37.8

1.1

65 and over

0.7

0.3

0.7

88.4

3.7

0.2

24.4

0.6

All ages(d)

1.6

2.0

1.0

809.7

90.6

3.5

88.9

1.5

(a) Rate per 100,000 population.(b) As recorded by police forces in all jurisdictions. (c) Refers to individual person victims only and therefore does not include organisations as victims.(d) Includes victims for whom age and/or sex was not specified.

Source: Recorded Crime - Victims, Australia, 2002 (4510.0).

Weapons used against victims of crime

Of the offences shown in table 11.11, a weapon was most likely to have been used in an attempted murder (75%) and murder (53%), and least likely in sexual assault offences (2%). With the exception of assault, a knife was the most common type of weapon used and was involved in 35% of attempted murders, 23% of murders and 19% of robberies. A firearm was involved in 22% of attempted murders, 13% of murders and 6% of robberies. The most common use of a syringe as a weapon was for the offence categories of robbery (350 victims) and assault (161 victims).

11.11 VICTIMS(a), By use of weapon in commission of offence - 2002

Offence category

Weapon use

Murder

Attempted
murder

Assault

Sexual
assault

Kidnapping/
abduction

Robbery

NUMBER (no.)

Weapon used

Firearm

42

87

675

27

34

1,168

Knife

72

138

5,540

139

62

4,047

Syringe

-

-

161

4

3

350

Other weapon

38

53

12,834

92

24

1,290

Total(b)

167

297

19,855

265

130

7,817

No weapon used

151

99

139,693

17,585

566

13,144

Total(c)

318

396

159,548

17,850

696

20,961

PROPORTION (%)

Weapon used

Firearm

13.2

22.0

0.4

0.2

4.9

5.6

Knife

22.6

34.8

3.5

0.8

8.9

19.3

Syringe

-

-

0.1

-

0.4

1.7

Other weapon

11.9

13.4

8.0

0.5

3.4

6.2

Total(b)

52.5

75.0

12.4

1.5

18.7

37.3

No weapon used

47.5

25.0

87.6

98.5

81.3

62.7

Total(c)

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

(a) The definition of a victim varies according to the category of the offence.(b) Includes offences where a weapon was used but was not further defined.(c) Includes offences where weapon use was not known or not stated.

Source: Recorded Crime - Victims, Australia, 2002 (4510.0).

Between 1993 and 2002 the proportion of murders, attempted murders and robberies involving the use of a weapon decreased (graph 11.12). The proportion of murders involving the use of a weapon peaked in 1996 at 78% while the proportion of attempted murders involving the use of a weapon peaked in 1997 at 87%.

The proportion of robberies where a weapon was used has fluctuated from 36% in 1994 and 1995 to 46% in 1998. Since 1998, this proportion has declined to 37%. For those robberies that involved the use of a weapon, the proportion of offences involving firearms decreased from 37% in 1993 to 15% in 2002.